This invention relates to a material-handling apparatus of the type essentially comprised of a container having an internal partitive wall forming two longitudinal compartments, each associated with a transfer member including a ram to compact refuse or other waste materials into the compartment. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved compacting and container apparatus having side-by-side compartments for more efficiently and economically handling the disposal of waste materials.
It is a generally accepted and well-known practice to use a transportable container for accumulating and storing a compacted load of waste or refuse material. Typically, the container is used to handle refuse from institutions and commercial establishments, such as food and dry-goods stores. The container is designed for loading, transporting and unloading by a truck equipped with a specially-designed chassis. The container embodies a heavy-welded steel construction with reinforced walls and has a capacity of up to about 42 cubic yards. At a designated loading site, the container is mechanically coupled to a compacting unit usually located at a fixed position adjacent a building. A chute is sometimes provided in the side wall of the building to direct waste material into a charging box within the compactor. A ram with a hydraulically-operated piston and cylinder assembly forces the material from the compactor into the container. The bulk of the refuse in the container is reduced because of the relatively high pressure with which the refuse is forced into the container. This increases the density of the waste material to reduce the frequency for transporting the container to a disposal site, thereby lowering the cost. One form of such a known compacting system of the type just described is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,250,414.
The availability and ever-increasing cost for disposal sites have become increasingly acute, particularly in populace areas. To reduce the demands for disposal sites and the accompanying cost, the present invention provides for the disposal of refuse in a manner that will permit recycling of some and usually a major part of the waste materials. The idea of recycling corrugated and other paper products is per se well known in the art, but has not been acceptably achieved in the container systems associated with compactors of the type described above. The acute solid waste disposal problem can be alleviated by separation of waste materials prior to compaction whereby upon compaction, material for recycling is isolated from solid waste requiring any of the well-known forms of disposal. The present invention is based on the discovery that a single container can be designed to handle material to undergo recycling and separately handle other waste material to undergo conventional disposal. Typically, such waste materials from department stores, supermarkets and the like are comprised of only about 25% to 30% refuse while the vast majority making up the remaining 70% to 75% is comprised of paper and paper products suitable for recycling. Moreover, the material for recycling can be used as fuel in a resource recovery system. The residence time for waste material temporarily stored in a container must be monitored to insure that the container is emptied at regular intervals, such as at least once each week. This minimizes health and fire hazards.